bloodrayne
05-18-2007, 10:56 AM
Mausoleum Leak Mystery Solved
Sacramento, California - The mausoleum mystery has been solved!
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We now know that a dark liquid at a crypt has been leaking from a corpse.
A disturbing possibility -- Decomposing body builds up gas. It has nowhere to go. You're going to see what may have happened over 12 years in three seconds. The pressure over time could be great enough to crack the casket.
It's called "exploding casket syndrome," a phenomenon so rare that most morticians have only heard of it. And that's what may have happened at the sierra view cemetery in Olivehurst.
"It sounds to me like there's an expansion of gases within the remains," said Greg Fitzgerald, mortician.
Greg Fitzgerald has seen a lot in his days as a mortician, stories so unsettling that they're more like trade secrets -- like what can happen after a body is buried.
"It will continue to expand until it breaks apart, which is grisly," said Fitzgerald.
There's another possibility. The copper casket could've corroded from highly acidic decomposing body parts, just like battery acid, says Fitzgerald.
A faulty seal also might've allowed fluid to flow through a tiny hole and right through a sealed crypt.
"Decomposition frankly is not a pretty sight," said Kevin Flanagan, Department of Consumer Affairs.
After seeing our stories earlier this week, the state cemetery and funeral bureau inspected Sierra View today. Cemetery workers cleaned the vault, covered the casket with plastic, and resealed the crypt with caulk.
"I think it would be pretty surprising if there were any further problem," said Flanagan.
California inspectors found the cemetery did nothing wrong and fixed the problem quickly.
Sierra View operators never reported the problem to the state but that's because they don't have to.
The secrets of a cemetery usually stay six feet under where no one can see. This time the sights and smells of death and decomposition are discovered in public in plain view -- and it will happen again.
"We come from the earth and we do go back," said Fitzgerald.
Sacramento, California - The mausoleum mystery has been solved!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/BloodRayne/lg.jpg
We now know that a dark liquid at a crypt has been leaking from a corpse.
A disturbing possibility -- Decomposing body builds up gas. It has nowhere to go. You're going to see what may have happened over 12 years in three seconds. The pressure over time could be great enough to crack the casket.
It's called "exploding casket syndrome," a phenomenon so rare that most morticians have only heard of it. And that's what may have happened at the sierra view cemetery in Olivehurst.
"It sounds to me like there's an expansion of gases within the remains," said Greg Fitzgerald, mortician.
Greg Fitzgerald has seen a lot in his days as a mortician, stories so unsettling that they're more like trade secrets -- like what can happen after a body is buried.
"It will continue to expand until it breaks apart, which is grisly," said Fitzgerald.
There's another possibility. The copper casket could've corroded from highly acidic decomposing body parts, just like battery acid, says Fitzgerald.
A faulty seal also might've allowed fluid to flow through a tiny hole and right through a sealed crypt.
"Decomposition frankly is not a pretty sight," said Kevin Flanagan, Department of Consumer Affairs.
After seeing our stories earlier this week, the state cemetery and funeral bureau inspected Sierra View today. Cemetery workers cleaned the vault, covered the casket with plastic, and resealed the crypt with caulk.
"I think it would be pretty surprising if there were any further problem," said Flanagan.
California inspectors found the cemetery did nothing wrong and fixed the problem quickly.
Sierra View operators never reported the problem to the state but that's because they don't have to.
The secrets of a cemetery usually stay six feet under where no one can see. This time the sights and smells of death and decomposition are discovered in public in plain view -- and it will happen again.
"We come from the earth and we do go back," said Fitzgerald.